Chapter Four

‘I want a divorce’

Jayden Kensington stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his executive office, overlooking the sprawling city of Rockville below. Flora's words from that morning still echoed in his mind. He had dismissed them, certain she would come to her senses by evening. Yet the words stuck to his head like an irritating burr, impossible to brush away despite his best efforts to focus on the day's business matters.

He turned from the window and paced the length of his office, his Italian leather shoes silent against the plush carpet. On his desk lay a stack of legal documents from the company's attorneys: merger agreements, acquisition proposals, confidentiality clauses, but his mind kept drifting to an entirely different sort of legal document: divorce papers.

Jayden picked up a crystal paperweight, turning it over in his hands. "She would not dare," he muttered to himself. But the seed of doubt had been planted. What if she did? What would the scandal cost him? The Kensington name was synonymous with power and respectability in Rockville. His grandfather Rudolf had built that legacy brick by brick, and Jayden was not about to let it crumble because of a woman's wounded pride.

He sat at his desk and pulled out his tablet, rapidly calculating figures; not for the upcoming merger, but for the potential fallout if Flora actually filed for divorce. Public perception, stock prices, client relationships, all could be affected if she spoke publicly about their marriage and about last night.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He had nothing to worry about. Flora could not leave him even if she wanted to. The Roberts family was entirely dependent on Kensington money. Her mother's expensive diabetes treatments, her sister's university tuition—the Roberts women were bound to him by financial necessity as surely as if he had signed their paychecks himself. He had given her a life she could only have dreamed of. Flora was trapped, whether she knew it or not. 

Still, the threat stayed. He did not like unfinished business or loose ends.

Then, he pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Send in Henry," he commanded, his voice crisp and authoritative.

Moments later, a knock preceded Henry Coleman's entrance. His assistant was impeccably dressed as always, tablet in hand, ready for whatever task Jayden might assign.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Henry's expression remained professionally neutral, though his eyes registered Jayden's agitation.

"Yes." Jayden leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "What does a man buy for an angry wife?"

If Henry was surprised by the question, he did not show it. "That depends on the nature of the anger, sir. Jewelry is traditional. Designer clothing. Perhaps a vacation."

Jayden waved his hand dismissively. "No time for a vacation. Something immediate. For tonight."

Henry nodded, but his expression remained unchanged. "Diamonds tend to convey sincerity, sir. They are both valuable and symbolic."

"Diamonds." Jayden tested the word, nodding slowly. "Yes, that makes sense. Practical and effective." He spoke of the gift as if discussing a business strategy rather than a peace offering.

Henry stood patiently, waiting for further instruction. He had served Jayden long enough to know when to speak and when to remain silent.

"The company vault," Jayden said suddenly. "We have several pieces from the last jewelry acquisition, do we not? The Harrington collection."

"Yes, sir. Including an exceptional diamond necklace valued at approximately three million dollars."

Jayden's eyes lit up with cold calculation. "Bring it to me. Now."

"Yes, sir." Henry turned to leave, then paused. "If I may, sir... sometimes a personal touch—"

"Did I ask for your relationship advice, Henry?" Jayden's voice carried a warning edge.

"No, sir. I will retrieve the necklace immediately."

As the door closed behind Henry, Jayden returned to the window. Three million dollars should be more than enough to remind Flora of everything she stood to lose. Women like her did not walk away from that kind of luxury. Not when they had grown up with nothing.

An hour later, Henry returned with a black velvet box. He placed it on Jayden's desk without comment and stepped back, awaiting further instructions.

Jayden opened the box slowly. Inside, an exquisite diamond necklace glittered under the office lights, like a river of perfect fire. 

He lifted it from the box, holding it up to the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. The diamonds threw prisms of light across the office walls.

"It will do," he said, examining the piece not as a gift of love, but as an asset to be leveraged. He was assessing its value and its power to solve his problem. 

Henry remained silent, his face betraying nothing of his thoughts as he watched his employer handle the necklace like a commodity.

Jayden set the necklace back in its velvet nest and closed the box with a snap. He picked up his phone and dialed the Kensington mansion.

"Marco," he said when the head chef answered. "I require a special dinner tonight. By the pool. Eight o'clock sharp." He began dictating menu items with specifications—the exact temperature of the champagne, the specific preparation method for the lobster, the arrangement of flowers on the table. 

"Everything must be perfect," he emphasized, gripping the phone tightly. "Not a single detail out of place. Is that understood?"

Marco's affirmative response satisfied him, and he ended the call with a curt "Good."

His marital problems were no different from a business negotiation. Flora had a price, and he was more than willing to pay it.

He turned to Henry. "That will be all."

Henry nodded and turned to leave, his expression giving away nothing of his thoughts about Jayden's methods of marital reconciliation.

Before Henry could reach the door, it swung open without warning. Lisette Kensington swept in, her designer heels clicking against the floor and her face set in its perpetual expression of mild displeasure.

"Jayden, darling," she said, ignoring Henry completely as he slipped past her out the door. "The most dreadful thing has happened with the charity gala preparations. The florist is being completely unreasonable about the centerpieces, and I simply cannot have it."

Jayden barely acknowledged her as his attention had returned to the velvet box. Lisette’s trivial complaints grated on his already frayed nerves.

“You must speak to the caterers too,” she continued. “They are insisting on serving sea bass again, and I simply will not have it. It is so common and—”

She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes caught sight of the velvet box on Jayden's desk. "What is that?"

Jayden, who had barely registered his mother's complaints, glanced up with annoyance. "Nothing that concerns you, Mother."

Lisette's painted lips curved into a knowing smile. She moved toward the desk. "Nothing? It looks very much like a jewelry box to me." She reached for it before Jayden could stop her, flipping open the lid with manicured fingers. "Oh my," she breathed, her eyes widening at the sight of the diamonds. "This is exquisite. For Melissa, I presume? How thoughtful of you."

"It is not for Melissa." Jayden's voice was flat.

"No?" Lisette raised a perfect eyebrow. "A pity. It would look stunning against her fair skin." She lifted the necklace from its box, holding it up to her own throat. "Though I suppose I could—"

"It is for Flora." Jayden snatched the necklace from his mother's hands and returned it to the box.

Lisette's expression froze, then hardened. "Flora? You cannot be serious. What could that gold-digger possibly have done to deserve three million dollars around her throat?" She laughed sarcastically. "She would not even know how to wear it properly."

"That is enough, Mother."

"No, it is not nearly enough." Lisette perched on the edge of Jayden's desk, arranging her silk skirt around her legs. "Have you considered what a Kensington-Pembroke alliance would mean for the company? For your future?" Her voice took on a silky quality. "Melissa comes from the right background. She understands our world and  our responsibilities. She would make a suitable partner, both in business and... other matters."

Jayden's patience, already thin, snapped. "I am not interested in your matchmaking games. I am trying to stop my wife from divorcing me."

Lisette's eyes widened. "Divorcing you? Flora? That is ridiculous. Where would she go? What would she do?" A slow smile spread across her face. "Actually, that might be the best news I have heard all year. Good riddance to her. I never understood why Father did not simply pay her off after that night. A discreet settlement would have been far less troublesome than a marriage."

"This is none of your business," Jayden growled, his hands clenching into fists.

"Everything that affects the Kensington name is my business." Lisette's voice hardened. "You made a mistake with that girl, but it is not too late to correct it. Let her go. Replace her with a woman who deserves to stand beside you." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Melissa is still in love with you. Last night proved that."

Jayden's face darkened. "You knew? About last night?"

Lisette waved her hand dismissively. "Of course I knew. Who do you think suggested Melissa join us for my birthday? Who do you think made sure your room was... available?" Her smile was triumphant. "I did you a favor, darling. I showed you what you could have with a deserving woman."

"You orchestrated that entire scene?" Jayden's voice was dangerously quiet. "You deliberately humiliated my wife in her own home?"

"Please. She is hardly your wife in any real sense of the word. She is an obligation, and a mistake you made three years ago. It is time to move on."

Jayden stood abruptly, towering over his seated mother. "Stop interfering in my life. Stop trying to manipulate my marriage. Stop acting like you know what is best for me." Each sentence was delivered with increasing force. "Flora is my wife. Not Melissa. Not anyone else you deem 'suitable.' And I will handle my marriage my own way."

Lisette's face hardened with anger. "You ungrateful boy. Everything I do is for your benefit and for the family name."

"No," Jayden countered. "Everything you do is to maintain your own power and status." He snatched up the velvet box containing the necklace. "I am done with this conversation."

"Jayden!" Lisette's voice rose as he strode toward the door. "Do not walk away from me when I am speaking to you!"

But Jayden was already gone, the door slamming behind him with enough force to rattle the framed awards on his office wall. Lisette remained seated on his desk, her perfectly manicured hands curled into claws of fury, her eyes fixed on the door through which her son had disappeared.